FMCG firm Godrej Consumer Products Limited (GCPL) on Wednesday reported its Q2FY24 profit at Rs 432.77 crore, up 20.6 per cent in comparison to Rs 358.86 crore during the second quarter of FY23, missing estimates. It posted revenue from operations at Rs 3,601.95 crore, up 6.2 per cent as against Rs 3,391.92 crore during the corresponding quarter of last year. The company EBITDA stood at Rs 704 crore. According to a CNBC TV18 poll, Godrej Consumer Products was expected to post Q2 profit at Rs 463 crore and revenue for the quarter ended September 2023 at Rs 3,580 crore.
The company board also declared an interim dividend at Rs 5 per share (500 per cent on shares of face value of Re 1 each) for the financial year 2023-24. “As intimated earlier the Record Date for ascertaining the names of the shareholders who will be entitled to receive the said dividend is Thursday, November 9, 2023. The dividend will be paid on or before Friday, December 01, 2023,” the company said in a regulatory filing.
The company’s consolidated Q2FY24 sales grew by 6 per cent in INR terms, led by volume growth of 10 per cent and it reported constant currency growth of 16 per cent on-year.
While the India business sales grew by 9 per cent on-year led by volume growth of 11 per cent, Indonesia sales grew by 16 per cent in INR terms and 14 per cent in constant currency terms, year-on-year. Africa, USA and Middle East sales declined by 5 per cent in INR terms and grew by 17 per cent in constant currency terms, year-on-year. Latin America and SAARC sales grew by 5 per cent in INR terms and 99 per cent in constant currency terms, on-year.
“We delivered a steady performance in 2Q FY2024, despite the tough operating environment. Our Consolidated volumes grew in double-digits at 10 per cent while sales grew by 6 per cent. Sales in constant currency terms grew by 16 per cent,” said Sudhir Sitapati, Managing Director and CEO, GCPL.
“Our quality of profits continues to improve consistently over the last few quarters with reported consolidated gross margin improving sharply by 700 bps year-on-year and 110 bps quarter-on-quarter. Our EBITDA margin, too, improved by 360 bps year-on-year despite continued media investments, which increased 33 per cent year-on-year. We continue to remain focused on driving volume-led growth along with healthy investments in our brands and improvement in profitability. We continue to have a strong balance sheet,” said Sudhir Sitapati.
He further added, “We are on track in our journey to reduce wasted cost and are deploying this to drive profitable and sustainable volume growth across our portfolio through category development. We remain committed to our purpose of bringing the goodness of health and beauty to consumers in emerging markets.”
Godrej Consumer Products’ Q2 performance across segments
The company’s home care business grew by 5 per cent. While the performance in household insecticides was flattish due to poor monsoons, the non-mosquito portfolio continued to consistently perform well. Air Fresheners continued to consistently deliver strong double-digit volume and value growth and Aer continued to gain share and enjoy market leadership.
The personal care business declined by 1 per cent. While the Personal Wash delivered low-single digit volume growth and the market share increased, led by effective media campaigns and micro-marketing initiatives. Magic handwash continued to deliver strong double-digit volume growth. Meanwhile, Hair Colour volumes grew in low single digit wherein growth was impacted due to one additional month of ‘Shravan’ during the quarter.
The newly acquired brands, Park Avenue and KamaSutra witnessed a sharp improvement in their sequential sales run-rate, clocking a sales value of Rs 142 crore.